In
the poems . . . the
actions of Israelis were
likened to those of the Nazis,
and victims of the Holocaust
are asked why they "have not
learnt their
lesson?"

Sunday, September 9, 2002

BBC
slammed for 'anti-Jewish' broadcast

By DOUGLAS DAVISLondon, England

The Board
of Deputies,
the representative body of British Jewry,
last week complained to the BBC over the
"violently anti-Israel and anti-Jewish
language" contained in poetry broadcast on
the BBC Radio program, Poetry Proms.

The poems were broadcast during the
intervals of the evening Proms, the annual
season of summer promenade concerts, on
August 13 and 20. The poems were also
posted on the BBC Proms Web site.

In the poems, written by Jean
Breeze and Michael Rosen, the
actions of Israelis were likened to those
of the Nazis, and victims of the Holocaust
are asked why they "have not learnt their
lesson?"

The BBC has told the Board of Deputies
it will not be possible to give a response
to the complaint before the end of
September, some six weeks after the
broadcasts.

Neville
Nagler, director-general of the board,
expressed surprise that the BBC
commissioned such poetry and broadcast it
"at such an inappropriate time." He added
that the long delay in responding to the
complaint indicates that "the BBC does not
take seriously complaints from the British
Jewish community."

"This is deeply concerning at a time
when anti-Jewish rhetoric is increasing,"
he said.

MEANWHILE, the British Zionist Federation
has expressed "increasing concern" at the
positions adopted on Israel by the
University and College Lecturers
Union.

The National Executive Council of the
union recently advocated cutting academic
links with Israel and concluded that
Israel is carrying out a deliberate policy
of destroying the Palestinian educational
system.

A statement made by union declared
that, "It is difficult to escape the
conclusion that Israel, on balance, has
been the main aggressor in respect of the
Palestinian population at large, clearing
populations for settlements and security
zones, destroying the fragile
infrastructure of the Palestinian
Authority."

The union recently sent a delegation to
the Palestinian territories, and Gargi
Bhattacharyya, a member of the union's
national executive and lecturer at
Birmingham University, later described the
West Bank and Gaza as "open-air prisons."
Such conditions have had an effect on all
aspects of life, she reportedly said,
adding that there has been a concerted
attack on access to education for
Palestinians.

She is also said to have supported the
decision to call for an end to the EU
funds to Israeli institutions.